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Urgent Notice from the DJPC: You can make a difference!

By Rebeca Zuniga-Hamlin

Urgent Notice from the DJPC: You can make a difference!

Honduras is currently in danger of returning to the era of authoritarian rule that prevailed in the 1980s. In response to a highly suspect presidential election in November, mass protest has erupted throughout much of the country. As the government has moved to crack down on protesters, reports of human rights violations have escalated. The military and national police are sweeping through several of the major cities, rounding up the leaders of the movement, and whisking them away to a military-run prison. There are reports that they have fired into crowds of protesters killing at least three dozen and wounding hundreds of others, while detaining over a thousand. Terrified witnesses tell of nighttime raids in which loved ones have disappeared into the night after being dragged from their beds by security forces.

The evidence that fraud took place during the election is considerable. With 58 percent of the vote in, opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla was predicted to win over incumbent Juan Orlando Hernández. Soon after that, however, the electoral system went dark and remained so for a full 36 hours. When the counting resumed, Hernández was gaining rapidly on his opponent and was declared the winner in the end by just 1 percent. While the U.S. quickly congratulated Hernández on his “win”, the OAS, citing “irregularities and deficiencies” declared it “impossible to grant any certainty to the result of this electoral process.”

We stand opposed to the arbitrary arrest and detention of peaceful protesters in Honduras and call on the Honduran government to release all political prisoners immediately. We also call on the government to respect the rights of peaceful protestors and hold all who violate these rights accountable. We call on the U.S. government to withhold all funding for the central government of Honduras until the problem of human rights violations and the fraudulent nature of the presidential election have been fully addressed.

Finally, we call on progressives, human rights advocates, defenders of democracy, and all people of faith and conscience to take a stand in support of democracy and human rights in Honduras. Please take a moment to contact your senators and ask them to support the Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act.